The Journey of Jack Vance
by ThatFalloutFan
Summary: Follow an epic Journey from Jack Vance, leaving a Vault in D.C and heading to the ruins of Hollywood, California.
1. Chapter 1

**Fallout: The tale of Jack Vance**

**Chapter I: First Steps Outside**

Jack Vance, aged 23, emerged from Vault 72. This particular Vault had remained unnoticed since its construction just outside D.C no one knew of it's existence, and no one would be able find it unless they knew _exactly _where to look.

The main reason no one had found the Vault was that when the bombs fell, the creators made sure that explosives were set to detonate at the mouth of the cave where the vault was set, effectively trapping the occupants inside as a safety precaution.

And since it had first closed of that fateful day when the bombs fell, it had never re-opened. No one had exited the Vault... Well, Until now that is.

Jack was probably the first to have'escaped' from the Vault. It would have surely become his tomb had he stayed.

It had been a mission and a half to escape that damn hole in the ground, as the rocks that had fallen had made it impossible to get out, and he was sure there weren't enough munitions in the Vaults armoury to blast a hole in the rubble.

Fortunately for him, being the Overseers son had its advantages. At a young age he'd been taught the finer points of all the vaults facilities, including the positions of air ducts, water pipers, and _electrical cables. _He'd been fortunate enough to find a pre-war fusion power coil down in the vaults scrap level, and with his knowledge of pre-war mechanics, had been able to figure out how to create a power surge that would overload it and cause it to explode.

When he was sure most of the vaults residents were in their rooms, he'd carried – with some difficulty – the coil up to the entrance level of the vault, avoiding armed patrols and the other vault residents.

Once at the entrance, he had no choice but to execute the small squad guarding the great titanium door. Once they had been dealt with he'd opened the vault door and set the coil against the rock pile blocking the entrance.

Then next part had been a challenge, as he had to unscrew plates on the wall where maintenance crews would work on the electrical circuits, and pull out two large cables, and access the emergency extensions. He then made sure both cables were powered down before attaching them to either side of the coil.

After that he backed up as far as possible and remote activated the power and sent a large surge of electricity through the cables, overloading the fusion coil and creating a massive explosion.

He had been lucky that the exit hadn't caved even further in when he detonated the coil but he didn't wait around to see if it would. He picked up his backpack, which he'd previously snuck into a small alcove, and rushed out to freedom.

He got his first look outside ever. He saw the bright, clear sky. He could see the barren land that looked like no living thing had ever been there.

It was alien, dangerous and vast beyond his comprehension, but he couldn't help but love what he saw.

He was outside of the vault!

He made his way down the rocks that led up to the now exposed entrance and broke into a sprint as soon as he touched solid ground.

During his escape, he'd snuck into the guards armoury, and he'd had taken a 10mm pistol and a few clips of ammunition. It was the only thing he knew would be able to fit into his current pack.

_If I find any other weapons out here, I'll need something larger to carry it in. _he knew he'd tire far too easily if he was forced to carry it around in his hands all day.

He had only read about the horrors of the Wasteland and knew he wouldn't last long unarmed.

He briefly contemplated on the reason for his escape.

His father, the Vaults overseer, was insane. And the guards were corrupt, brainwashed by the thought of power and dominance.

That was the Overseers plan: to force a complete dictatorship over the entire vault residency, and eliminate everyone who opposed him. He had the numbers to do so as well, and the firepower – 65% of the Vault were very loyal to him and would die in his name if asked to. That was enough to keep the opposition at bay – at least for a short time.

Jack had sensed a riot coming and a long bloody battle following. He didn't want to be a part of it and had decided to leave, even if that meant having to kill a few of his fathers corrupt guards.

It wasn't that he had wanted to do it… it was because he had to. It was the only way he'd be able to escape the vault… and perhaps find help.

But that was something to think about another time. Right now, he had to focus on getting somewhere safe for the night.

Now, he needed to survive the post-apocalyptic world of D.C.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II: Encounters with the creatures

Jack took another long look around. He couldn't get over the fact that he was finally outside the Vault, the place that had kept him locked in like a prisoner without any contact to the outside.

He knew he would stick out in his Vault jumpsuit. He assumed people would most likely judge him harshly for how he had grown up.

He decided to change into something else as soon as possible… as long as there actually _was _anything else out here.

He reached into his pack and pulled out the 10mm pistol. He didn't know what was in the Wasteland; but he did know that it was best not to take chances.

In the distance he could see a house. Although he was far away, he could see that various pieces of scrap metal had been attached along the walls trying to form some sort of protection against the outside world_. Someone must be in there_ Jack thought to himself.

Seeing it as wise, he kept his gun half raised, should the person or… creature turn out to be hostile.

When he arrived at the door it burst open and an older man walked out, lever action shotgun raised. He looked like he was in his fifties, with long messy brown-but-greying hair and an unkempt beard.

"What're you looking for stranger." He growled, keeping the muzzle trained on jacks head as he spoke. His tone was controlled, as was his hands. His voice was deep and the accent was quite obviously southern.

"I'm not looking for trouble!" Jack responded quickly, spreading his arms out and his pistol in a non-threatening grip. "I just need directions."

The man grunted and lowered his weapon. "Well be that as it is, I may be able to help. Come in, make yourself at home."

Jack nodded his appreciation and tucked his pistol into his waistband.

"May wanna move your ass son, the horrors of the wasteland could kill you at any moment, especially if you're from a Vault. Bandits and raiders wouldn't think twice on killing you if they saw your fresh ass out in the open. But they're the least of your troubles."

The old man closed the door firmly behind him, sliding several locks into place.

"I'm gonna assume that you're the boy that's been all over the radio. Someone wants you dead, bad." As he said this, he gestured to a small, battered radio on an equally battered table.

"My... My father. He'll be the one who's after me." Jack told the man.

"Damn, what'd you do? Forget to do your homework?" He let off a hearty chuckle. "Don't mind me, I don't mean nothing by it. But seriously, what'd make a man want to kill his own son… a vault boy at that."

Jack hesitated, wondering if he should trust this guy. After all, they'd only just met, and he'd had a shotgun barrel in his face not two minutes ago.

"Come on now, I ain't the sort that'd hold you up and hand you over for a quick bag of caps. Might as well get it off your chest."

"I guess I should" Jack replied.

"See, the Vault I was in was... Well, it was descending into chaos. My father, the Overseer, was going to kill quite a few people in there. He wanted total control, but I think there was something more to it than that. He was a smooth talker, able to persuade a lot of people to believe in him, so there was no need for him to result to brutality to get what he wanted. He was up to something more. My father controlled all the guards and, therefore, controlled any weapons in the Vault, so no one was going to risk an open defiance. I knew this was the reason why nothing had happened. But that peace couldn't last forever, so I escaped. It wasn't easy, since the Vault was blocked from the outside. But I managed to blast my way out. I don't know why he wants me dead exactly. Maybe he thinks I'm going for help, and considers that a threat. All I know is that I can't trust anyone at this point. My father's powerful and he'll go to whatever means necessary to get what he wants. I appreciate that you trusted me enough to let me in, but I can't stay here, not so close to the vault, not with my father trying to hunt me down."

The old man seemed to consider him then, looking him up and down as if he was trying to figure out what was going through his head.

"Listen, boy. I know you can't stay, but I can't in good conscience, let you go out there with what you got right now. So, I have a proposition for ya'. I have some business to take care of before I clear out of this shithole. I can't stay here either, and it's not because of the your 's a colony of Deathclaws that've just recently moved in nearby, and trust me, there not the sort of creature you'd want to screw around with. I've seen 'em roaming around in the distance. Only a matter of time until they venture too far and discover this little shit-box. But, currently, I have another problem. Raiders. Some of 'em have been lurking around at night, just waiting to attack. I've counted 10 of 'em. Now, that may not seem like much, but with all of them shooting you at once, there's no chance of winnin'. Now, with two people going after them at night, we can probably take a couple of them down before the others notice and then finish them off. Help me out with this, and I'll give you some items to help you get by. Do we have a deal?"

Jack thought this over, considering all the options he had:

1. He could help out the man and get the reward.

2. He could simply kill him and take everything he has.

3. He could leave and let the man deal with his own problems.

In the end, he decided to help the man out, seeing as the man had let him into his home.

"I'll help you." Jack told him.

"There's a smart lad. Now, I'll give you some leather armour for some protection. Ain't in the greatest condition but it's better than that Vault get up you got goin' on."

The man moved to the edge of the room, opened a battered old wardrobe and pulled out the leather armour.

Jack caught the armour as the old man threw it to him, and gave it a once over. It had defiantly seen battle, and the scraps of metal plating were marked with dents and bullet holes. It looked sturdy enough however, so he quickly put it on. Although it felt a bit heavier, he knew this would be better in a fight than the Vault jumpsuit.

"Right then, get some rest. Night fall will come in a few hours, so I reckon we should both make sure we're fresh when we assault this camp, rather than being tired as shit.

The man gestured for him to head upstairs and moved back to the wardrobe, searching through various bits of junk that had somehow piled up at the bottom.

Jack walked up the steps and saw that the top floor was quite bare apart from a couple of filthy mattresses on the ground and a stool seated at the one window on the top floor. He lay down on the mattress and tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

Nearby, outside Vault 72…

The Overseer stepped outside for the first time in years. He had climbed through the ventilation shafts when he was a boy and he knew what the world was like outside the vault. He'd seen what was out here, and occasionally shot at the creatures of the wastes with his father's rifle. When he'd become the Overseer however, he'd been sure to block off the vents so that no one else could get out as he had.

After his son had left, the opposition had risen up inside the vault and tried to take him down. It was the last thing they'd ever try to do… _such a waste._

His team of guards had slaughtered them but not without casualties of their own. 5 of his guards had been killed but the rest had made it out alive.

He had assembled a squad and, all armed and ready to move, he had told them that they were heading out to eliminate his bastard son.

He had to admire his son'shandiwork however. It was a smart little plan he'd come up with, using a fusion coil to bust through the rubble. Still, he was a treat to his plans, and had to be dealt with.

"Listen up." He told his men, turning to face them. "Out here, shit is tough. Every second is a fight for survival, every mistake punished with death or worse. However we will be the first to tame this godforsaken world that some people see fit to call 'home'. You keep your eyes and ears sharp, and you may just make it back alive. If not… well you better hope you have a bullet saved for yourself."

His men nodded, their expressions stony. _Good. They may survive this just yet._

"All right let's move o-" but before he could finish, his words were punctuated by a loud roar from behind.

He turned and found himself face to face with one of the wastes most dangerous creatures: a Deathclaw.

Towering over them, with claws that would rip them to shreds and the speed advantage over humans and many other creatures, it was feared for a reason.

And it could see them. It broke into a charge and would be on them in seconds.

His men raised their rifles but the Overseer quickly waved them to stand down.

Stepping into a stable stance, he pulled out a .500 S&W Magnum, an extremely powerful revolver which would pack a punch in many things. It was probably the only remaining weapon of its kind still in the Wasteland.

The Overseer had trained with this weapon for many years and had mastered how to use it.

As the Deathclaw got closer, he aimed the magnum, and fired a shot straight through the monsters head, causing it to explode like an egg in a microwave.

The body fell to the ground with a resolute thump.

The Overseer holstered the magnum and looked at his team.

"That's only a taste of what the wasteland has to offer." He said, looking over his men's shocked expressions. "If you don't act quickly, you won't act ever again. Out here, there's only one rule: shoot first, and don't bother to ask questions later. However our objective is Jack, so if you see humans, you question them. If they don't co-operate, you know what to do."

His men nodded again, their faces determined.

The Overseer unleashed a wicked smile.

"You find Jack, make sure to bring him to me, together or in pieces, dead or alive."

They were going hunting tonight, with an insatiable hunger for destruction.


End file.
